Topographical Maps Can Be Deceptive
Ben, Begencia, and I went on a two day backpacking trip in the Talkeetna Mountains this week. We planned on hiking back to a lake in the middle of nowhere starting from the Willow side of Hatcher Pass. In retrospect, it would have been wiser to scope the area first or ask someone who had been there instead of making a plan solely from a topographical map. The plan was to hike up the Craigie Creek Valley through Dogsled Pass, through the next valley and the next pass, and to a lake in the third valley back. Unfortunately for the plan, the second pass was almost impassable, and certainly not something to try if you're exhausted and carrying 40 pounds on your back.
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Topographic maps can be deceptive.
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Real deceptive
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Those two pictures were taken around the second pass this morning when we went back up without our packs. The map, while technically accurate, failed to notify us of the massive cliffs on the back side of the second pass. So we didn't get to our lake, but that was a quite ambitious plan anyway. We had to hike 5 miles up to Dogsled pass, then we ran into the first topographic failure: the route we had planned to use to get to the second pass was impassable due to boulder fields, so we had to hike down 1,000 feet to the valley floor and back up the other side. When we determined that we weren't going to get to the lake we decided to camp on the plateau just beneath the pass where there was plenty of water. There was a spring coming out of the mountain above our camp, but we filtered it anyway just to be safe. After ensuring that we had enough water, we all promptly fell asleep on the ground.
For dinner we feasted like kings... hobo kings. A dinner of Top Ramen and canned beans followed by a little after dinner entertainment--throwing rocks down the side of the mountain. I guess that's what people did before television and the internet. The only problem with camping at 4100 feet is that we couldn't make a fire. There was nothing that would burn on the tundra up there. I was disappointed at the absence of campfire bullshit, but what are you gonna do? The cans of beans probably weren't a good idea for the digestive system, and I learned just how hard it is to take a good crap squating in a boulder field.
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The first valley, where we stopped for lunch the first
day .
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The lake just over the first pass.
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Ben fumbling with the GPS with the second pass in
the distance just left of him.
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The terrain in the third valley; we weren't up for
climbing over that with big packs.
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Mmmm... Ramens with vegetables and Beef Stick...
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Nalgene can kiss my ass.
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Begencia wasn't quite all there this morning.
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The archaeologists purifying water.
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Looking from the second pass back at the first pass
over the plateau we camped on.
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You can see a sliver of the lake that was going to
be our destination in the distance straight ahead.
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I was ready to pack out a moose... if we'd brought
a gun... if it was moose season.
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Looks like something out of a camping magazine, eh?
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Climbing back up to the first pass wasn't too much
fun.
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Back by the first lake.
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And down Craigie Creek Valley to the car.
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I couldn't help but notice, while following Ben, how much he looked like a big pack with legs from behind. I also have become sold on the merits of the canteen. It holds more water than a conventional water bottle, the shape is more efficient, and you can carry it with a strap around your neck and take a sip whenever you feel thirsty. We also did a little recreational goldpanning by our campsite. There were a couple likely looking flakes, but nothing big enough to bother keeping. There were several mining claim signs in the area, but we didn't see any people back there.
I find it interesting that there were no other people back there. It doesn't make sense that there is an entire mountain range for exploring, yet most of the backpackers use the Reed Lakes trail. Why should I have to spend my wilderness excursions with lots of other people if I don't have to? I think the point of backpacking is to get away from civilization and other people as much as possible. I also firmly believe that the farther you get away from industrial tourism spots, the fewer assholes there are. It was incredible driving back; as we got closer and closer to the developed world, the more mo-mos there were on the road. It would be nice to go back there again, but only with climbing ropes and bigger quads and calfs.
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Our route, starting at the bottom left and ending
top right at the second pass.
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© 2004, Michael Logsdon